McCall Co. v. Parson, May, Oberschmidt Co.

66 So. 274, 107 Miss. 865
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 15, 1914
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 66 So. 274 (McCall Co. v. Parson, May, Oberschmidt Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McCall Co. v. Parson, May, Oberschmidt Co., 66 So. 274, 107 Miss. 865 (Mich. 1914).

Opinion

Smith, C. J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

On the 12th day of September, 1905, a contract was entered into between appellant and appellee, the parts of which material to this controversy are as follows:

“The McCall Company, New York, N. Y.
“Please deliver to . . . at New York City, addressed to us a stock of McCall Patterns, at the uniform price of seven and one-half cents for each pattern (excepting those retailing for ten cents, the price of which is five cents each), amounting to four hundred and ten dollars and twenty-four cents net, including the November issue, one hundred and- sixty-four dollars and twenty-four cents payable thirty days after shipment, and the balance, two hundred and fifty dollars is to remain as a standing credit during the term of this contract order, upon which interest is to be paid by us at the rate of five per cent per annum, semiannually, January and July 1; also ship us each month by . . . not exceeding an average of twenty-five dollars per month of your selection of the new monthly patterns, at same price as above, commencing with December issue; also Fashion Sheets and other publications in quantities, and at-prices specified below, during the term of this contract, commencing with November issue.
“We will reorder at the prices above named, once each week, or oftener, all patterns sold, thus keeping patterns on hand as above specified. The patterns are not to be sold for other than catalogue retail prices, and the stock of patterns is to be kept and offered for sale on the first (main) floor. We will send you an inventory of our stock of patterns on hand at your request, not exceeding twice each year.
[875]*875“All goods ordered for delivery are to be paid for on or before the 5th day of the month succeeding date of shipment; if not then paid, subject to sight draft. All prices quoted are net.
“We will not sell any other patterns than the McCall Patterns received from you during the term of this contract order.
“We will not transfer the stock o»f McCall Patterns from Brookhaven, Mississippi, without your written consent, and will pay all transportation charges to and from your New York office.
“Discarded Patterns.
“All patterns purchased from you under this contract order that are reported discarded by you semiannually— January and July — can be returned by us at one hundred per cent contract price, in exchange for other patterns at full contract price, at any time within sixty days from the date such discarded patterns are respectively reported by you, provided this contract shall be in force at the time of such return. All patterns returned by us under any such discard report are to be credited to a special account, to be known as our discard exchange account, the credit to same to continue for a period of six months from the date of such discard report unless this contract shall be sooner terminated; and all patterns ordered by us within such period of six months while this contract is in force, excepting our monthly standing order, shall be charged to such discard exchange account unless our credit to the same is earlier exhausted.”

The contract further provided that it should remain in force for five years.

Several months prior to the expiration of the five years for which this contract was to run, appellee decided to discontinue business, and so advised appellant. At that time there was a considerable balance due appellant, and, in addition, under the contract it was entitled to ship and [876]*876to receive payment from appellee for the several monthly shipments of patterns thereafter to be made as provided for in the contract. Appellant sent one of its agents, a Mr. Wright, to see what adjustment of the matter could be made with appellee, but nothing tangible resulted from his efforts. Afterwards this suit was instituted in the court below to recover from appellee the sum of three hundred and eighteen dollars and sixty-eight cents, the amount alleged by appellant to be due it under the contract. Two hundred and fifty dollars of this amount was the standing credit referred to in the contract, and the remainder was the balance due on the monthly shipments of patterns. To appellant’s declaration appellee pleaded the general issue, and gave notice of special facts to be set up in bar of appellant’s claim, and also a special plea, setting up practically the same facts as contained in the notice. The defense thus set forth is that in so far as the two hundred and fifty dollars is concerned, appellant does not owe it, for the reason that it was “understood and agreed that defendant was not to pay said sum, but was to take patterns to that amount, over and above what were paid for in cash, was then 'to pay interest on their value, and plaintiff would, at the expiration or breach of said contract, retake patterns from the stock in defendant’s possession to the value of two hundred and fifty dollars;” and in so far as the remainder of the account is concerned, appellee has more than paid it, for the reason that it had returned to appellant at various times discarded patterns worth, under the terms of the contract, more than this balance claimed to be due. Judgment over was requested against appellant for the amount claimed to have been so paid it in excess of the amount due. The cause was submitted to the jury and a verdict rendered for appellant in the sum of one hundred and eighteen dollars and sixty-eight cents. Both parties being dissatisfied with this result, each filed a motion for a new trial, and upon the overruling thereof [877]*877each has appealed to this court, appellant by direct and appellee by cross-appeal.

Over the objection of appellant, Mr. Parsons, a member of appellee corporation, and who seems to have entered into the contract with appellant, on behalf of ap-pellee was permitted to testify that the agent who represented appellant in the execution of the contract told him, at the time the contract was executed, that the words, “standing credit,” in the contract meant that ap-pellees would-not be called upon to pay the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars designated therein as standing credit, but that at the expiration or discontinuance of the contract appellant would accept in settlement thereof patterns of the value of two hundred and fifty dollars. This evidence should not have been admitted, for the reason that it was simply an attempt to vary by parol the terms of a plain and unambiguous contract. This feature of appellee’s defense was presented to the jury by means of the following instruction:

“The court instructs the jury for the defendant that if they believe the defendant was induced to sign the contract by false representations made by plaintiff’s legal representative empowered to make contracts for fraudulently inducing defendant to sign the contract, they will find a verdict for the defendant. ’ ’

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
66 So. 274, 107 Miss. 865, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mccall-co-v-parson-may-oberschmidt-co-miss-1914.